Automatically-controlled flush valve



E. c. cums AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLED FLUSH VALVE.

APPLICAHONYHLED FEB- 3, 1919.

1 ,412,925. Patented Apr. 18, 1922.

ETC. Uurfis stares EDWARD C. CURTIS, EAU CLAIRE, WISCONSIN.

AUTOMATICALLY-CONTBQLLED FLUSH VALVE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr. 18, 1922,

Application filed February 3, 1919. Serial No. 274,746.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD C. Currie, a citizen of the United States, residing at Eau Claire, in the county of Eau Claire and State of iVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatically-Controlled Flush Valves, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to valves for controlling the passage of water, and particularly to valves for flushing closets, bowls, or other like purposes.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a. simple and readily operated valve for controlling the flushing of closets, bowls or like parts.

And a further object is to. provide means for determining the amount of water passing through thevalve chamber.

A, further object is to provide a construction of this character which is semi-automatic in its operation, that is in which the actuation of the valve is initially started by an initial actuation of a handle, but in which after the initial actuation of the handle, the operation is automatic.

A further object is to provide a construction of this character in which the amount of flushing water passed by the valve mechanism at each operation shall be always the same so that the amount of water-used may be readily calculated.

And a further object is to provide a construction of this character inwhich water pressure in a by-pass is allowed to initially operate the flushing valve mechanism and will then continue such operation until the closet is fiusl'ied or until a certain amount of water has passed through the apparatus and in which the operation is timed by the escaping water.

Other objects have to deal with the details of construction of the parts and their arrangements, as will more fully hereinafter appear.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 fis] an elevation of the valve mechanism, the valve casing being broken away and the greater portion of the valve mechanism being shown in vertical diametric section;

Figure 2 is fragmentary vertical section in a plane at right angles to the plane of the plane of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse section on the line 33 of Figure 1.

Referring to these drawings, it will be seen that this apparatus includes an outer casing formed in two sections 10 and 11, the section 11 being superimposed upon the section 10 and having screw-threaded engagement therewith, as at 12, the section 1.1 being provided with a shoulder 13 which bears against the upper end of the section 10. This section 10 tapers towards its lower end, but the section 11 is cylindrical. The upper end of the section 11 is flanged and closed by a head 14- held to the section 11 by bolts, screws, or other suitable fastening devices, and the lower end of the section 11 is formed with the annular web 15, formed to provide a downwardly facing valve seat 16. Extending through the section 11 and into the section 10 is a piston rod 17 which, at its upper end, carries a trunk piston 18, the rod 17 not projecting beyond the face of this piston however. Mounted upon the piston rod 17 for reciprocation therewith, is the valve 19 which is double faced or has the form of a double. truncated-cone, the upper face of this valve fitting against the seat 16 and the lower bevelled face of the valve performing a function which will be later stated. Below the valve 19 is a. cylindrical portion 20 having a downwardly and inwardly bevelled face 21. Below it the stem or piston rod 17 is screw-threaded, as at 22. Carried upon the lower end of the rod 17 is an annular disk 23, the center of which is formed to provide a downwardly tapering stem 2 1 havinga cylindrical interiorly screw-threaded. continuation 25 which engages with the screw-threads on the rod 17. Mounted upon the lower end of the section 11 and extending down into the section 10, is an inner cage 26 which tapers downwardly and is provided with the elongated upwardly extend ing ports 27. The bottom of this case is formed with a central opening 28 through which the lower end ofthe rod 17 passes. Loosely surrounding the case 26 is a cage 29 which extends down below the cage 26 and is also formed with a plurality of vertically extending slots 80 which are adapted to register with the slots 27 but which in the inactive position of the parts are out of registry therewith. It is necessary to rotate this outer cage in order to get its ports into full registry with the ports 27, and to that end I dispose below'the lower end of the cage each other.

29 at opposite points the arms 31. There are a pair of these arms disposed in the same plane with their edges confronting Each arm is pivoted at 32 to the cage 26 and at its opposite end each arm extends outward through projecting ears 33 on the outer cage 29. At the center the arms are outwardly bowed, as shown in Figure 3, and at this'point the arms are formed with downwardly extending semi-circular portionsea whose outer faces are downwardly and centrally bevelled and whose inner faces are also downwardly and centrally bevelled, conforming in their bevel to the bevel of the face 21. Now as the valve stem or piston rod 17 moves downwardly opening the valve 19, the bevelled face :21 will enter between these portions 34 and will expand these arms or shift them away from each other to an tent which will cause the outer case 29 to rotate to a'degree sufficient to bring the ports 30 into alignment with the ports 27. Upon the upward movement of the valve stem or piston rod 17, and when it has nearly reached its upper point, the upwardly and outwardly tapered portion 24 of the disk 23 will engage the outer bevelled faces of the members 34 and will cause the arms to move towards each other, thus shifting the outer cage in the reverse direction to close these ports,

The head 14 is formed with a chamber 35 and with a port 36, the lower end of which opens into the interior of section 11 and the chamber and port 36 communicate through a valve seat 37 having thereon a bevel faced valve 38. This valve is carried by a stem 39 which extends out through a suitable gland 40 in the head 14 and the valve 38 is held to its seat by a spring 41 surrounding the stem 39. A handle 42 is pivoted tothe head and the angular inner end of this handle, when the handle is depressed, will bear against the stem 39 to force the valve 37 open.- Extending longitudinally through the section 11 is a by-pass 43 which opens into the chamber by means of a valve seat 44, upon which rests a ball valve 45. This ball valye is prevented from escaping from its seat by means of a cage 46 having screw-threaded engagement 7 with the head.

One end of this chamber 35 is closed by a plug 47; The section 11 is provided with a by-pass duct 48 which extends up through the wall of the chamber and opens into a duct 49 forming a continuation of the duct 48 formed by recessing the under face of the head 14, and this recess extends over the threaded for engagement with the adjustable pipe. Extending through the side wall of the section 11 below the lower end of the duct 48 is a' shaft 52 having cranks at its outer and inner ends, one of these cranks 53 being engaged by a link 54 to the pivot pin extending into the wall of the trunk piston. This shaft 52 preferably passes through a stufling box 56 and the outer crank arm 57 may be operatively connected to any suitable mechanism as, for instance, the valve controlling the outlet of liquid from a supply tank, or it may be operatively connected to the seat if desired.

The operation of this device is as follows: hen it is desired to flush the closet, the handle 42 is forced downward, which forces inward the valve stem 41 and opens the valve 38. Water under pressure has, of course, previoiiisly filled the section 10 and the duct 43 of section 11 and chamber 35 and when the valve 38 is opened, this water under pressure passes into the duct 36 and into the clearance space at the head of the piston 18 and pressure of water forces thepiston 18 downward, which carries downward the piston rod 17. This causes the valve 19 to open and when the valve is moved downward a requisite amount, the conical portion 21 engages the downwardly tapering portions 34 of arms 31 and spreads these arms thus, as before explained, rotating the cage 29 relatively to cage 26 so that the ports in the two cages are in register with each other and so that the full force of the water may pass through these ports andupward into the cylinder of section 11 and out through the opening 51. Now water pressure on the piston 18 tends to force the piston rod 17 upward in the cylinder, but this is resisted by the water which is collected between the piston 18 and the head 14. Inasmuch as the valve 38 is closed and any inward movement of this valve is resisted by the spring 41 and by the check valve 45, it follows that this water in the clearance space of the cylinder must pass out through the duct 49 and bypass 48 before the piston can reach its up perinost position, but passage of water through this duct 49 and by-pass 48 is re sisted by the screw 00 so that the passage of water is retarded and hence the upward movement of the piston 18 is retarded, the amount of this retardation depending upon the adjustment of the screw 50. Therefore, the valves will remain open for the passage of water through'the discharge ust as long as it takes the water in the clearance space of the cylinder to pass the screw 50 and through the ducts 49 and 48. Now when the piston rod 17 has lifted sufficiently for the valve 19 to close, the conical. portion-24 of the disk 23 will act upon the conical members 34 to cause the closing of the arms 31 and the rotation of the outer shell 29 to a position where its ports will be out of alignment with the ports 27 and the parts will be in the position which they originally had.

It will be seen that with this mechanism, the amount of water which is discharged through the outlet opening is determined by the time it takes the water above the piston to pass out under the gauge screw 50. It will be seen that the valve is semi-automatic in its action, inasmuch as it requires merely initial actuation, after which the pressure of the water operates the valve, holds it open for a predetermined length of time, and then causes it to close. It will be seen that if the gauge screw is open to its fullest extent, then the valve 19 will close relatively quickly and if the gauge screw is set so as to very greatly obstruct the passage of water from above the piston, then the valve 19 will not be closed for a relatively greater time and a greater amount of water will be discharged. It is thus a very simple matter to regulate the amount of water which will be discharged upon each flushing of the closet.

It is also to be noted that if the handle .2 be held down and not be simply pushed down and then released, the device illustrated will continue'to act autoniatically, that is the piston 18 will be shifted for the full stroke of the piston in one direction to open communication between the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe, and then be shifted in a reverse direction, and when the piston has reached the end of its stroke, communication will be cut on between the inlet and the outlet pipes, and that this alternate opening and closing of communication between the inlet and the outlet pipes will continue indefinitely so long as the handle 42 be held down, and this would also occur if communication between the chamber 36 and the chamber 35 were permanent, in other words, if the valve 38 and the handle 42! be left off of the device. Thus, the device would act to measure'the water delivered and if a counting mechanism were connected to the piston rod 17 or piston 18 or any other like part, as through the connections 54 to :37, the reciprocations of the piston, and consequently the amount of water delivered, would be measured, it being known, of course, how much water would be delivered upon a single reciprocation of the piston.

The action of the check valve 15 and of the valve elements 26 and 29 is of great importance. If the check valve and the valve elements 26 and 29 were omitted, then when the lever 41-2 was pressed down, the water would rush through valve 19 and the pressure on the rear side of valve 38 would, instantly drop so that the valve 19 would only open a short distance before it would start to close again. To overcome this, it is necessary to use the valve elements 26 and 29 and use the check valve 45 to retain the water in the cylinder behind the piston while the valve is working.

Attention is also called to the fact that the disk 23 and the valve 19 present a relatively large surface to the action of the upwardly moving current of water when the valve 19 is open, and thus if the screw 50 is set for a low pressure and the pressure increases in the water supply pipe, as it does in case of fire, the pressure on the valve 19 and on the disk 23 will also be increased, that is the pressure tending to close the valve and shift the piston 18 towarrs the head end of the cylinder, and this pressure will push the water out through the bypass 16, past the screw 50, at about the same ratio that the water enters through valve 19, and vice versa for low pressures so that my construction regulates itself to high or low pressure.

While I have illustrated a construction which I believe to be particularly effective, which is simple, and may be cheaply made and readily installed, it is to be understood that the details of construction may be varied in many ways without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It. is likewise to be understood that a mechanism operating on this order might be used in other situations than as a flushing valve for closets.

The function of the rotatable valve elements or cages 26 and 29 is to prevent the pressure of water on the inlet side of the valve 19 from resisting the opening movement of the valve 19 when the valve 38 is being opened. If it were not for these valve elements 26 and 29, then there would be pressure of water on opposite sides of the valve and the pressure of water in the chamber of section 10 would resist the mo vement of the valve 19 to a closed position even though the valve 38 was opened. As it is, however, when the valve 19 is opened, the valve simply passes downward through what comprises a closed chamber, the water simply passes around the valve, then after the valve has been opened to its full extent, then and only then is the water pressure admitted to act upon the reverse sideof the valve 19 and theunder side of the piston 18 to cause the valve to close.

The purpose of the shaft 52, the crank arms attached thereto, and the link 54-, is to permit an operator to draw down on the piston 18 and .hold the valve 19 open for any desired length of time so as to cause the continuous passage of water through the valve casing and out through. the outlet 51. Of course, under these circumstances, when the; crank 57 is released, the water pressure will cause the parts to return to their normal position or the piston may be shifted to its normal position by hand.

claim mechanism of the character described including casing having separated inlet and outlet openings and a valve seat disposed between said openings, a valve coacting with said seat and controlling communication between said openings, a piston moving in the casing and operatively connected to the valve and disposed on that side of the valve remote from the inlet opening and disposed beyond the outlet opening, and means causing the pressure of the water at the inlet end of the casing to act against the head of the piston to thus cause a predetermined movement of the piston toward the valve and the opening of the valve and when the valve has fully opened, automatically causing the current of water passing through the casing to then act against the piston to shift it away from said valve seat to thereby shift the valve toward and into engagement with the valve seat.

2. A flushing mechanism including a casing havin intake and outlet openings, the intake opening being adapted to be connected to a source of liquid under pressure, a valve controlling communication between said openings, and manually operable means for causing the initial opening of said valve, and pressure operated means then acting automatically to alternately shift the valve from its seat to thereby connect the inlet and outlet ends and shift the valve against its seat to cut off communication between the inlet and outlet openings.

8. A mechanism of the character described including a casing having separated intake and outlet openings, the intake opening being adapted to be connected to a source of liquid under pressure, a valve controlling communication betweensaid openings, a piston operating in the casing and opcratively connected tosaid valve and disposed at the. end of the casing remote from the intake opening, and water pressure operated means causing the piston to alternately move in one direction .for substantially the full length of its stroke and then open communication between the inlet and outlet openings and then move in a reverse direction for substantially the full length ofits stroke and close communication between the inlet and outlet openings.

4. A mechanism of the character described including a casing having separated intake and outlet openings, a valve controlling communication between said openings, a piston operating in said casing independently movable with relation torthe valve and disposed in that part of the casing remote from the intake opening, means carried by the piston for opening said valve upon a movement of the piston towards the intake port a predetermined distance, and for closing said valve upon amovement of the piston away from the intake port a predetermined distance, and means whereby liquid under pressure may be discharged behind the head of the piston when the valve is closed to cause the opening of the valve, and means whereby the liquid behind the head of the piston may be released when the valve is opened to permit the reverse movement of the piston and the eventual closing of the valve.

5. A mechanism of the character described including a casing having separated intake and outlet openings, a valve disposed within the casing and between said openings, a ton operating in the casing and disposed at that end of the casing remote from the intake opening, a piston rod carried by said piston and acting when the piston has been shifted toward the outlet opening to substantially the full extent of its stroke to open said valve and when the piston has been shifted in the'reverse direction substantially the full extent of its stroke to close said valve, and liquid pressure operated means for reciprocating the piston.

6. A mechanism of the character described including a casing having separated intake and outlet openings, a valve disposed within the casing and between said openings, at piston operating in the'casing and disposed at that end of the casing remote from the intake opening, a piston rod carried by said piston and acting only when the piston has been shifted toward the outlet opening to substantially the full extent of its stroke to open said valve and when the piston has been shifted in the reverse direction substantially the full extent of its stroke to close said valve, means for admitting liquid from the intake end of the casing into the space hehind the piston and including a check valve preventing the return of said liquid, and means permitting a retarded flow of theliquid behind the piston to the intake end of the casing to thereby retard the return'of the piston.

7. A mechanism of the character described including a casing having separated intake and outlet openings, a valve disposed between said openings, and in one position cut ting off communication and in the other po sition establishing communication between said openings, a piston independently movable with relation to the valve operating in the outlet end of said casing beyond the outlet opening thereof, means carried by said )iston for causin the o enin of said valve when the pistonarrives at a point a prede tel-mined distance from the valve on the outward movement of the piston and causing the closing of said valve when the piston reaches a predetermined distance from the valve ona movement away from the valve, means for admitting liquid from the inlet end of the casing to the space behind the piston, said means including a manually operable valve, and means for permitting the escape of liquid from behind the piston upon a reverse movement oi? the piston including a bypass operatively connecting the space behind the piston with the outlet port of the casing and having a constricted passage is tarding the escape of liquid.

8. A mechanism of the character described including a casing having spaced intake and outlet openings, a rotary valve disposed in the casing between said openings and in one position establishing communication between said openings and in another position cutting off communication, a piston operating in the outlet end of the casing beyond the outlet openingthereof and having a piston rod, means carried by the piston rod for causing a rotation of the valve to its open position when the piston has been shifted a predetermined distance toward the outlet opening and causing a rotative movement of the valve to its closed position when the piston has been shifted a predetermined amount in the reverse direction, means "for admittingliquid to the space behind the piston including a duct leading from the inlet end of the casing to the space behind the piston, and a check valve permitting the flow of water to said space but preventing backflow thereof, and means for permitting the restricted escape of water from the space behind the piston.

9. A flushing mechanism including a casing having intake and Outlet openings and a valve seat between the openings, a valve normally disposed on said seat, a piston in the outlet end of the casing operatively connected to the valve, a chamber disposed above said piston and having a duct communicating with the intake opening of the casing, a manually operable valve controlling passage through said chamber to the space behind the piston, a constricted relief port leading from the space behind the piston and retarding the escape of water from the space behind the piston upon a movement of the piston in a direction to close the valve, a chamber having ports and attached to the said seat on the inlet side oi the seat, and means for automatically opening said ports only when the valve is moved a predetermined distance from its seat and automatically closing said ports only when the valve has returned to its seat.

10. A flushing mechanism including a casing comprising two chambers and an in termediate valve seat, one of said chambers having an outlet opening and the other an intake opening, a valve operating on said seat, a piston operating in the outlet cham her and connected to the valve, a chamber attached to the valve seat and extending into the intake chamber and having a port, a rotatable valve member having a port adapted to register with the port of said chamber, manually operable means for admitting i'iorted valve member to a position where port registers with. the port of said chamher to thereby permit liquid under pressure to pass through said seat and into the outlet chamber, said pressure acting upon the piston to urge the valve again towards its seat, manually regulatable means for retarding the movement of the piston under said pressure to close the valve, and means "to cause said ported valve member to shift into a position to carry its port out of registry with the port of said chamber when the valve is closed.

11. A flushing mechanism ii-icluding a casing comprising a cylindrical chamber having an outlet and a chamber having an inlet, there being a valve seat between the two chambers, a head closing the end of the cylindrical chamber opposite said seat and having a port leading into the adjacent end of the cylindrical. chamber and having a chamber connected by a duct to the intake chamber or the casing, a check valve in said head chamber, a manually operable valve controlling communication between said head chamber and the duct leading into the cylindrical chamber, a valve coacting with said seat, a piston in the cylindrical chamber operatively connected to the valve to move therewith, a substantially cylindrical member constituting the chamher and attached to the valve seat and extending into the inlet chamber and having a plurality of ports, a rotatable substantially cylindrical 'member surroundingthe first named cylindrical member and having ports adapted to register therewith, means acting upon a movement of the valve away from its seat rotating the second named cylindrical member to'a' position to cause its ports to register with the ports of the other cylindrical member, and means acting when the valve has returned to its seat to cause a reverse rotation of said rotatable cylindrical member to carry its ports out of registry.

12. A flushing mechanism including a casing comprising a cylindrical chamber having an outlet and a chamber having an inlet, there being a valve seat between the two chambers, a head closing the end of the cylindrical chamber opposite said seat andhaving a port leading into the adjacent endof the cylindrical chamber and having a chamber connected by a duct to the intake chamber of the casing, a check valve in said head'chamber, a manually operable valve controlling communication between said head chamber and the duct leading into the cylindrical chamber, a valve 'coacting with said seat, a piston in the cylindrical chamber operatively connected to the valve to move therewith, a hollow inember constituting a chamber and attached to the valve seat and extending into the inlet chamber and having a plurality of ports in its periphery, a rotatable hollow member surrounding the first named hollow member and having ports in its periphery adapted to register with the ports in the 4 first named hollow member, means acting upon a movement of the valve away from its seat rotating the rotatable hollow memher to a position to cause its ports to IGglfter with the ports of the other hollow member, means acting when'the valve has returned to its seat to cause a reverse rota-- tion of said rotatable hollow member to carry its ports out of registry, said means including a stem depending from the valve and having a downwardly tapering portion, a disk mounted upon the extremity of said. stem and having an upwardly flaring central recess, and a pair of arms each pivoted at diametrically opposite points to the stationary hollow member and having their extremities operatively engaged with the rotatable hollow member, each of these arms having a semi-circular portion at its middle and having'segmental downwardly bevelled portions extending from the circular portion.

13. A flushing mechanism includin a chamber having an intake opening, a cy inder'having screw-threaded engagement with the chamber and having an outlet opening and formed to provide a valve seat at its junction with the first named chamber, a head mounted upon the upper end of the cylinder and having a duct leading into the upper end of the cylinder and chamber, the cylinder having a duct opening at its lower end into the first named chamber and at its upper end into the last named chamber, a check valve permitting upward movement of liquid through said ductbut preventing downward movement thereof, a valve controlling the passagevof liquid from said chamber and resiliently urged to its closed position, means for shifting said valve to its open position against the force of the spring, a piston mounted in the cylinder, a stem connected thereto, a valve mounted on the stem and coacting with the seat, the stem below the valve having a down wardly tapering portion and a SCIGW-tlllGilCled extension thereof, a disk mounted upon the screw-threaded portion of the valve, a shell mounted upon the seat and depending therefrom and having a central opening in its bottom for the passage of said stem and ports in its side wall, a rotatable shellconcentric, to, thefirst named shell and having ports adapted to register withthe ports thereof, means operated'by the downwardly tapering portion of the stem toshift the rotatable shell to carry its ports into alignment with the ports of the fixed shell, means carried by the disk for shifting the rotatable shell to a position to carry its ports out of registry with the ports of the fixed shell when the valve is closed, and manually regulatable means for retarding the upward movement of the piston and'theclosing of the valve and determining the time within which said valve shall close. I

14. A mechanism of the character described including a casing having inlet and outlet openings, a valve controlling communication between said openings, a piston operatively connected to the valve and disposed in the casing on the outlet sideof said opening, a valve controlling communication between the inlet and outlet openings, means automatically reciprocating the valve toward and from its closed position, a shaft onthe exterior of the casing, and operative connections between said shaft and the valve whereby the shaft shall be oscillated upon a reciprocation of the valve.

16. A mechanism of the character de scribed including a casing having separated inlet and outlet openings and a valve seat disposed between said openings, a valve coacting with said seat and controlling communication between the ,open1ngs,.ap1ston operatively connected to the valve and disposed in the casing on the outlet side of the valve and beyond the outlet opening, means for causing the pressure of water in the inlet end of the casing when the valve is closed to shift the piston a predetermined distance in one direction to open the valve, said means then acting automatically to cause the retarded return of the piston to its original position, and oscillatable means on the exterior of the casing operatively connected to the valve and piston to be oscillated 'byvthe reciprocations of the'valve and piston. v c

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

no. CURTIS,

Witnesses:

{F, R.,FARR. L. M. MOCUMBER, 

